Polyethylene sheet material or comparable flexible plastic sheet material has been used in kite construction for some time. The material has known advantages in kite construction including its relatively high strength, water-proof characteristics, repairability, durability, and light weight. However, conventional kite designs incorporating polyethylene sheet material have normally required the use of peripheral ribs along the edges of the sheet material to support the sheet material and maintain a desired configuration for the kite. As a result, kites utilizing plastic sheet material in the past have been heavy, and cannot be flown in relatively light winds.
A further deficiency of prior art kites is the fact that there has been no practical substitute found for wooden ribs. Plastic or metal tubular ribs have been employed in some cases but their use has necessitated the employment of elaborate connectors, such as a central spider connector to interconnect the cross-rib and vertical rib. Thus, the overall performance of kites has been limited by the inherent deficiencies of wooden ribs including the tendency of such ribs to swell and bend with variations in humidity, their relatively low overall structural strength and the difficulty of connecting a bridle to the vertical rib in such a manner that a self-centering alignment effect is obtained as the end loops of the bridle pass over the edges of the substantially rectangular cross-section of the rib.
The various structural deficiencies of prior art kites have resulted in kite performance that is limited to certain predetermined wind conditions. For example, a particular kite may have acceptable flying conditions under light winds but may not have sufficent strength or rigidity to fly under heavier wind conditions. Additionally, the structural configuration of prior art kites results in asymmetrics in the flying surface of the kite due to an asymmetrical or off-centered condition in one or more of the supporting ribs and/or bridle members. Such an asymmetrical condition produces an instability in the flight of the kite, which must be compensated by a tail or other corrective member with a resultant reduction in performance.
Therefore, it is desirable to have an improved kite construction that provides a light-weight, high-strength kite with consistent performance characteristics in a wide range of wind conditions.